13 Months

Our sweet boy is very busy these days.  He's no longer just walking but running.  He's into everything more than ever before.  He enjoys rides in his red wagon and going outside with Papa in general.  We're looking forward to cooler weather so we can take more walks and go to the park.

 

This is Klive's baby model look.  He truly looks like he's posing for a magazine.

 

 

Klive went to his first pool party/birthday party a few weeks ago.  He finally was able to wear his fashionable little bathing suite.

 

I stuck this picture in because you can actually kind of see Klive's teeth.  He doesn't show them very often.  He has seven right now, but the eighth is soon to arrive.

 

I love this picture.  He was watching his friends play in the pool.

 

Klive was a little hesitant about the water.  The water was pretty cool. 

 

Klive is still a great eater.  He loves a wide variety of foods.  Just the other day I made a lentil veggie stew and he ate every single last lentil off his tray.  It was somewhat spicy, but he seems to like spice.  Fruit is still his favorite.  He hasn't met a fruit that he didn't like.  And it is nearly impossible to eat anything without him begging for some.  In this picture he is enjoying stuffed zucchini with ground beef and marinara.

 

Also, he has said his "first" word besides Momma, Dadda, and Papa.  It's uh-oh.  I guess you could say it's his first word; at least I'm going to claim that it is.  It's pretty cute.  He also lets out an audible "ahhh" after every drink out of his sippy cup.  I think his Papa taught him that one.

We Laugh We Cry We Cook by Becky Johnson and Rachel Randolph

 This book was right up my alley. A fun read of a mom and daughter sharing their personal anecdotes regarding their cooking adventures with quite a few recipes thrown in. The daughter tells of what led up to her family deciding to become vegan with the adventure of becoming a new mom thrown in. The mother shares her adventures in cooking for her husband, kids, and grandkids and the love and research she puts in to caring for her family and their stomachs.

This definitely was a quick read. I finished a chapter or two a night and read through the recipes. I especially enjoyed the daughter’s story and perspective, and was intrigued to read the story of how her picky husband turned vegan. I like to incorporate a vegetarian dish into our meals at least one night a week, so I enjoyed seeing some very hearty vegetarian/vegan dishes. They also incorporated their faith in God and what part that plays in their lives. And I couldn’t rate this book fully without trying out a few of the recipes. I picked three to start. First I tried Becky’s Layered Italian Veggie Casserole. I was only disappointed in the description of the skillet cook time of the potatoes and zucchini. Partial and lightly didn’t offer enough description for me and I did not cook them in the skillet as long as I should have, so they came out of the oven more firm than I would have liked. Other than that, it was a delicious recipe that would serve a ton of people. Next I made the Sweet Potato Lentil Chili. Delicious! Great, great recipe and my 13 month old ate it all up. The next recipe that I tried was the Cashew Queso. This recipe intrigued me more than anything else. Believe it or not, it wasn’t bad. It didn’t really taste like queso to me, but was a yummy dip that is not nearly as fat laden as regular queso would be. Very creative and tasty. All in all, a good read.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com® book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

So much better!

 

Check it out!  You can see the house!  Kevin planted abelia's across the back (they attract butterflies).  He planted some little red flowers across the front.

 

Here's the before pic again.  Wow!

 

And here's the right side of the house.  We still need to trim up the trees, but I am loving the difference already.

Klive is ONE!

Our sweet baby boy is one!  I just can't believe it.

 



 

Lots of sparkler candles instead of the traditional "1" candle.  Klive was mesmerized by them.

 

It took some tasting off of Papa's finger, but he finally decided to dig in.

 

I decided to make red, white, and blue layers on the inside with a traditional butter cream frosting.  The berries on top were partly to go with the patriotic theme and partly because Klive LOVES them.

 

Mama's boy.

 

Sweet cousins.

He enjoyed playing with all his new toys at the end of the day.



Buried Alive

That is what our house had become.  It was literally being swallowed by our shrubbery!  Something had to be done.  Drastic measures had to be taken.  I've said it before, and I'll say it again.  I do not have a green thumb.  I kill things.  This is where I enlisted my husband.  My poor, unsuspecting husband. 

Be prepared to be horrified...

Yep.  That is truly sad.  I use a hedge trimmer every spring and fall on all of our shrubs (that is the only yard work I do... ever).  That is just not enough for these monstrosities.  (Good thing we don't have any windows in the front of our house.)  There are three very large shrubs there.  You can't see the third, but it is behind the purple shrub and is about the same height.  So I used all the charm I could muster and begged Kevin to take out these three shrubs.  Rip them right out!  Then we will place a couple of very nice looking, small shrubs in their place.  After he did this, I noticed that the holly in the back was a lot taller than I remembered.  Also, the one partially behind the big green shrub was half dead.  Sooo, while he was sweaty and dirty I asked if he wouldn't mind just ripping all the holly out as well (imagine me batting my eyelashes).  I believe there were at least four very large holly shrubs.  Out those went as well!

So looking at that left side; we Kevin took all of those shrubs out.  The left side of the house was completely naked!  We went to the nursery and bought lots of nice things.  And I also ordered something very special this week for that space.  It should be delivered in about two weeks.

This past weekend, Kevin ripped out the overgrown shrubs on the right side.  Woo hoo!  And hopefully this weekend he will plant our new shrubs and possibly trim back the trees a little.  I should have a picture next week of all the progress.

10 and 11 Months

Wow, I am really behind posting pics of Klive's progress.  The time sure has flown. 

Klive is a pretty good eater for the most part.  He likes to eat, just not all the things that I wish he would eat.  For instance, I gave him lima beans the other night for dinner.  Hated them.  Wouldn't eat them.  But the very next day I saw something sticking out of his mouth.  It was a leaf.  I had to pry his mouth open to get it out!  He didn't want to give it up and was quite upset with me for not letting him eat it.  Now how does a leaf taste better than a lima bean?  Answer me that?  Here he is eating tomato sauce with some spices, ground chickpeas, star pasta, and cheese.  He was enjoying himself.

And he loves playing peak-a-boo with the curtains.  I CAN'T keep him away from the curtains.

Okay, this pic speaks for itself.  How stinkin' cute is he??!!

I got him some shades the other day.  He thinks it is funny to wear them.  He usually will keep them on for a minute or two.

Klive is really good at getting into things that he is not supposed to be messing with.  Like in this picture... he pulled out the bins with the DVD's and used them as a step ladder to get to the Wii player so that he could push the power button again... and again... and again.  He's also trying to climb up the entertainment center.  And no, I am not a terrible mother.  I did pull him down as soon as I got my picture.

This is one of my favorite pics of my little one.  I took some shots of him wearing his Papa's straw hat and sitting on the tractor for Kevin's Father's Day present.  I LOVE how it turned out. 

Happy Father's Day Papa!

A Dream So Big by Steve Peifer

Could you imagine moving your entire family to another country, and not just another country but one stricken with heart-breaking poverty? This family did. After the death of their infant son, this family made the decision to move to Africa and change lives. And it changed their lives in return.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this families' journey. The Peifers endured the devastating loss of their infant son. I can’t even imagine that. Then the Lord called them to Kenya to be dorm parents at a school for missionary kids. Through this the Peifers experienced a whole new world so different than their life in Texas. They work to change the lives of children by breaking the cycle of poverty. They used the money God had provided them to feed hungry children a warm lunch at school. For some it was the only meal they would eat that day. And the setting up of the computer labs at the schools was also amazing. I think we to easily forget how blessed we are and how much we have. In this book, Steve tells story after story of things we cannot even imagine that are going on in another part of the world. It’s a reminder to us to love as God loves, and give as he would have us give; not only of our finances, but also of our time.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze® book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255 : "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."